During the processing of oil and gas (O&G) and chemical products, various contaminated aqueous fluids including water and one or more contaminants are produced. Managing such contaminated aqueous fluids can be challenging and expensive. For example, during well drilling and production, managing slop water, for example at a rig, can be an important aspect of environmentally responsible waste management. As regulations become more and more restrictive, the level of contaminants (e.g., dissolved hydrocarbons) in a conventionally treated water may be too high to be discharged into the environment and/or efficiently reutilized.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system and method of removing contaminants from contaminated aqueous fluids encountered during O&G and chemicals processing, whereby a purity of the treated water can be reduced below a level needed for disposal thereof. Desirably, the systems and methods enable recovery of potable water and/or the production of a reduced volume of waste material needing disposal.